HomeMy Public PortalAbout2006_04_10
Council Work Session
April 10, 2006
Council Chambers, 25 West Market Street, 7:34 p.m. Mayor Umstattd presiding.
Councilmembers Present: Kelly Burk, Kathryn Sheldon Hammier, Susan Horne,
Melinda Kramer, Marty Martinez and Mayor Kristen Umstattd
Councilmembers Absent: Bob Zoldos
Staff Present: Town Manager John Wells, Town Attorney Barbara Beach, Assistant
to the Town Manager Nicole Ard, Assistant to the Town Manager Kathy Leidich,
Director of Engineering and Public Works Tom Mason, Director of Capital Projects
Management Nagi Elsewaissi, Assistant Director for Recreation Rich Williams,
Engineer Anne Geiger, Downtown Coordinator Lisa Capraro, Management Specialist
Tami Watkins, and Deputy Clerk of Council Debi Parry.
AGENDA ITEMS
Council Meeting of April 11, 2006
a. Approval of a Boundary Line Adjustment agreement between the
County of Loudoun, Virginia and the Town of Leesburg, Virginia.
Barbara Beach stated the Town and County are in sync to advance this
boundary line adjustment for Festival Lakes and Good Times Park.
Council member Burk asked if the County plans to agree to this request.
Ms. Beach stated it is her understanding that the County is in support of
this request.
Councilmember Horne stated on March 21 the Loudoun County Board of
Supervisors approved a resolution pertaining to this boundary line adjustment
request which passed by a vote of 9-0. She stated Mr. Wordsworth paid the
water and sewer availability fees to the Town a long time ago with the
understanding that his property would be brought into the Town.
Councilmember Hammier stated she is looking forward to the public input
tomorrow evening. She stated we are looking at a number of piecemeal
boundary line adjustments and asked where we are with looking at a strategic
annexation. She asked if Council approves the $50,000 for the fiscal impact
model how quickly could we get this process moving along?
Mr. Wells stated staff is already working on the RFP and scope of work for
this rather than waiting for the budget to be approved. He stated we would
not be in a position to award a contract before July 1. Further, he stated we
are about six to nine months away from having a working model because of
the work required by the consultant.
Councilmember Hammier stated in looking at this in a piecemeal fashion
we are only making progress on non-profit land or land that is to be zoned
residential.
Mr. Wells stated the most we can do at this point is to get the RFP
developed now in anticipation of Council's approval of the program change.
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Page 2
Councilmember Hammier stated in as much as we have planning
documents dating back 20 years, she would support Council directing the
Planning Commission to outline exactly what our strategic annexation goals
are so we can present the findings to the Loudoun County Board of
Supervisors.
Councilmember Horne asked how a fiscal impact model would be used
when we don't have an application in front of us.
Mr. Wells stated you need to have an actual project in front of you or an
assumption of what you think the project is going to have.
b. Amending the FY 2006 - 2010 Capital Improvement Program to
add Ida Lee outdoor pool, appropriating $100,000 for design and
engineering services in FY 2006 and awarding the design and
engineering services contract for this project to Smolen, EMR &
Associates Architects for $310,500.
Nagi Elsewaissi stated we are at a critical time for approval of the
contract for the pool to allow for opening by the summer of 2008.
Councilmember Burk asked about the selection process.
Mr. Elsewaissi stated we advertised for professional consultant and
selected the best consultant to suit our needs. He stated we selected the
group that would provide us with the best services, not necessarily the
cheapest.
Councilmember Burk asked who was on the selection committee.
Mr. Elsewaissi stated the selection committee consisted of Kaj Dentler,
Rich Williams, Bill Ference and himself.
Councilmember Horne asked if the Town maintains a prequalification list.
Mr. Elsewaissi stated we send the RFP to a list of contractors and
consultants we have dealt with in the past we place an ad in the local news
paper and placed a copy of the RPF on the bulletin board in Town Hall.
Councilmember Horne asked for clarification of the funding for the pool
and tennis courts.
Mr. Wells stated we have looked at a combination of projected revenues
for the two facilities, Symington Donation funds and general obligation bond
funds. He stated the theory is that the pool and tennis facilities will generate
revenue; however, that can not occur until they are constructed.
Councjlmember Burk verified funding of these two projects will not
impact the purchase of additional land for the park.
Councilmember Hammier stated we also have funding from the KSI
proffers. She thanked Claire for being a very diligent citizen in requesting
that these projects move forward.
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c. Awarding a design and engineering services contract for an
outdoor tennis center to Vollmer Associates, LLP for $172,000.
Nagi Elsewaissi stated the need is great for this project with the closing of
the recreation center and stated the project is expected to be completed in
the fall of 2007.
d. Amending Resolution 2005-173 and authorizing a revised offer to
acquire rights-of-way, temporary and permanent easements on 28
Fort Evans Road.
Anne Geiger stated when this project was approved in 2005, the design
required removal of the fence and replacement of the stone wall in front of
the Manor Apartments on Fort Evans Road at a cost of $74,000. She stated
staff has value engineered the plans and found that by pulling the storm
sewer away from the curb and gutter we could save the fence and wall
resulting in a $24,000 net savings to the Town.
Council members Horne and Hammier thanked staff for taking the initiative
and finding this savings for the residents of Leesburg.
Mayor Umstattd verified the project is still slated for completion in fall of
2007.
Ms. Beach stated staff needs Council to authorize condemnation of a
property associated with this project so the resolution will be amended for
tomorrow night.
e. Making an appointment to the Board of Architectural Review
Councilmember Burk stated Ms. Pam Reed has resigned from the Board of
Architectural Review (BAR) and she will be nominating Ned Kiley for
appointment.
Councilmember Burk stated Ms. Reed had difficulty remaining on the BAR
because they regularly meet at least twice a week. She stated the people on
this Board are a dedicated group and are serving more than many other
commissions. Further, she stated at some point we need to look at the
stipend that this group receives as opposed to what is received by other
commissions.
Mayor Umstattd stated in the past we have discussed paying
commissioners for each meeting attended. She stated if this is the
permanent state of the BAR it may be worth increasing the stipend.
Councilmember Burk stated new development such as KSI and the
Crescent District is coming under the BAR's jurisdiction and is very different
than their normal cases. She stated it may be helpful to have a
subcommittee for the BAR to look at these new developments.
Councilmember Horne suggested an adjunct group to look at revitalization
and new projects.
Ms. Beach stated the City of Alexandra has two Boards of Architectural
Review. She stated one deals with the historic area and the other deals with
the area adjacent to that, similar to our Crescent District.
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Council member Burk stated she has not had the opportunity to discuss
this with the entire BAR and would like further discussion in May.
Vice Mayor Martinez stated this is something that should be decided on
before the new Council takes office.
Mayor Umstattd stated we should also make sure this process is initiated,
should that be the desire of Council, before we adopt the Crescent District
Master Plan.
Ms. Beach stated this is a change to the Zoning Ordinance which would
have to go before the Planning Commission and would have to be advertised.
She stated Council could vote tomorrow night under new business to direct
staff to begin the process.
It was the consensus of Council to vote tomorrow night.
Councilmember Hammier stated the Commission Chairpersons recently
met and Terry Young mentioned that Kevin Wright suggested that board and
commission members have terms different from that of Council and that their
terms end in December rather than June. She stated this would take the
pressure off new Council members having to immediately appoint board and
commission members.
Mayor Umstattd stated assuming that change is not made we will have to
send letters out to the newly elected Council members to inform them of the
need to select nominees for the boards and commissions prior to July 1. She
discussed the merits and concerns related to the current board and
commission appointment process. Further, she suggested waiting until the
new Council is appointed before making any changes to this process.
Councilmember Hammier stated Dieter Meyer reminded her that the BAR
is also unique in that according to the bylaws the aggregate group of
members has to have certain professional backgrounds so we as a Council
need to make sure that we have that balance on board.
For consideration and discussion:
1. Public Arts Task Force recommendation on committee for the arts.
Jim Sisley, Public Arts Task Force, thanked the Town Manager and staff for
their assistance in formulating the recommendation. He stated the task force's
recommendation for the formation of a Public Art Commission and outlined the
mission and various funding options stating the appointments would follow the
current commission appointment process. Further, he discussed the one percent for
the arts program which is done in many communities where one percent of funding
for public or private projects is set aside for public art.
Councilmember Kramer and Vice Mayor Martinez stated their support for this
recommendation.
Councilmember Burk stated all of the task force members have put in a great
deal of effort and the more research they did the more it became apparent that if we
are going to have a vibrant town you have to have a commitment to the arts. She
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stated she met with a developer the other day who was excited about the
opportunity to make a commitment to the arts.
Councilmember Horne thanked Mr. Sisley for his report and the task force
members for their commitment. She asked how the one percent for the arts
program works.
Mr. Sisley stated generally if it is implemented for public projects the one
percent would come from the bottom line, a $50,000 project would yield $500 for
public art. He stated with a private project the amount would be determined in the
proffers. Further, he stated the task force has recommended that one of the first
things the Commission should do is to quantify the one percent for the arts program
for Leesburg.
Councilmember Horne stated finding ways to celebrate the arts and culture in
any community is one step to building a community that embraces all of the
strengths and characteristics that make it unique. She stated she looks forward to
moving forward with this.
Councilmember Hammier stated her appreciation for the research into what
other jurisdictions are doing related to public art. She stated this is going to evolve
and it will be important for the Commission to come to Council with
recommendations and to get input from the public related to various funding options
such as one percent of the arts. Further, she stated she has already reached out to
an individual she would like to appoint to the Commission.
Mayor Umstattd thanked the task force members for their efforts. She stated
her support for asking developers to set aside funds in their proffers for public art.
She stated she is reluctant to spend too much in public funds to acquire art, though
it would be legitimate to dedicate resources to setting up the Commission.
It was the consensus of Council to vote under new business tomorrow night
to direct staff to prepare an ordinance for a public hearing on May 9th.
2. Edwards Landing Status Report.
Tom Mason stated Section 3 and the recreation center did meet the deadline
of March 30; however, the bonds will be held until all the bonds are ready for
release. He stated Lennar has received the estimate from Virginia Power for the
streetlights and have issued payment.
Councilmember Horne verified there are five more deadlines to meet and the
developer is on target to meet those deadlines.
Mayor Umstattd asked the status of the removal of the trailer on Battlefield
Parkway.
Mr. Mason stated the trailer houses Gatehouse's equipment and they have not
come to terms with Lennar or the homeowners association. He stated the trailer is in
the way of a small number of improvements that need to be done and staff is hoping
the situation will be resolved before construction begins on those improvements.
Mr. Wells stated the bonding is not tied to the trailer; however, the trailer is a
problem from a zoning perspective and there are other avenues the Town can pursue
if necessary.
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Ms. Beach stated the trailer is in violation of our zoning regulations; however,
the common areas have been transferred to the homeowners association so that is
who we will have to contact regarding removal of the trailer.
Moe Jaymand, Lennar, stated he and the homeowners have been meeting
over the past three weeks to develop a solution to the trailer issue. He stated they
will continue to work with Mr. Mason and Mr. Wells.
On a motion by Councilmember Burk, seconded by Councilmember Hammier,
the meeting adjourned at 8:33 pm.
uJ. aU
erk of Council
2006_tcmin0410